KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The hill behind the Copper Cellar restaurant on Cumberland Avenue juts on a 45-degree angle up a hill. That’s where Mike Nichols sat under a Tennessee-orange tent with his wife Janice and friends a few hours before kickoff Saturday.
Nichols, a Knoxville native, wore the orange-checkered socks and the “Battle at Bristol” shirt. He’s been to almost every Florida game since the 1970s, and he had no problem making the drive from Hilton Head, S.C., to attend the game. Nichols sat talking with his dauther-in-law Lauren Julian and friends Ken Alford and Mike Miller while the heat flirted with 90 degrees three hours before No.